Nursing Grad!

Your journey through nursing school has been long and arduous but an end is finally in sight. As you approach graduation you experience a strange mix of relief and panic. The realities of what lies ahead as a professional nurse start to creep in making it hard to breath. You question yourself asking, Did I make the right decision to become a nurse? Do I have what it takes to succeed? These feelings are normal and are experienced by all new graduates. Here are seven strategies that will help you survive, and even thrive, during your first year as a nurse and beyond.

The night before the first day of my graduate year came. Oh what a joyful night that was! 

Getting dressed, I felt like I was a teenager again....excited to make my parents proud...only this time I had my husband and my children happy for me too.

 

Last semester of our Nursing Program

            Prior to becoming a student in the nursing program, I’ve had previous work experience communicating with clients - as an independent financial advisor, a certified wedding planner and a unit coordinator at the Montreal Neurological Hospital.  In the humble career of nursing, I believe being knowledgeable, having confidence, integrity and a good self-esteem plays a role, as an individual or as a team player.   My strength is the ability to communicate - Talking and especially listening are extremely important in the nursing program, where poor communication could be detrimental in this career. My favourite clinical settings were obstetrics and pediatrics because of my serious interest in pregnancy and children. When caring for our patients, it can never be assumed that they have other resources or support, so it’s important that they receive excellent care and education directly from us.  Whether we’re working in geriatrics, psychiatry, or pediatrics, we are trusted with someone’s health or illness, or someone’s parent, someone’s spouse, or someone’s child. We explain things in a “nice” way however we are not to give false reassurance.  We encourage our patients to say how they feel while observing their non-verbal cues.  My plan as their nurse is to give individualized care to each patient, rather than generalizing patients according to their diagnoses.

            Last year, when I found out that I was pregnant, a part of me was disappointed that I cried because I wanted to graduate with my class at the end of the year.  One year later, here I am back at school and blessed with a healthy 8 month-old baby girl in my life. At the end of last semester, another obstacle came in my way – my husband was admitted in the hospital due to inflammation of the pituitary gland. He had an endoscopic trans-sphenoidal biopsy of the pituitary gland.  They’ve been investigating him since March and he is still not diagnosed. Therefore, I am now taking care of my husband, my 4 year old son and my 1 year old daughter at home.  It’s quite exhausting to try and juggle anything that comes my way and be successful at everything, but I always strive to try my best.  Over the weekend, both my kids were under observation for respiratory issues and (undiagnosed) asthma (due to their young age) so I know that the healthcare team needs to deal, not only with sick kids but also, with their worrisome parents.  As the mother in this family, I am so grateful to “connect the dots” and understand the physicians when they speak about the medical issues of my family members.   Oftentimes, I think that I was meant to be in the nursing program as a mature student because my past experiences definitely help me while communicating with others and be resilient. 

            Even though I was born in Montreal, I don’t speak French fluently and find it difficult to explain or educate my patients as thoroughly, as I do to my English patients.  I know that it’s something I need to improve in.  Since I’m returning into the nursing program, in my mind, my goal is to quickly refresh my nursing vocabulary, to learn and do as many technical skills as possible, in order to become confident working at the bedside.  For the following week, I plan to be organized with a nursing care plan for the day for each patient, read up on the diagnosis’ and watch videos of nursing skills to be done.

            One thing I’ve noticed among nursing students is that most of us already have genuine thoughts of care and concern, do acts of kindness, and unselfishly give ourselves to others, as though it’s a pre-requisite to be in this program. They say that the nursing career is very rewarding and I can finally understand that first-hand.  It’s so nice to be told by patients and their families that they appreciate the care, the education and the comfort I’ve provided for them during their stay, so far.  I definitely feel like I’m in my element.  Aside from working diligently for my exams and my term papers, I know I will be closer to achieving my goal when I succeed in my clinical rotations in the 6^th semester, as well.  

Jasmine's 1st Birthday {Hello Kitty}

Make Time for Your Girlfriends!

We are all busy in life and use the excuse- "I have no time!"  Our schedules are filled with work, school, kids activities, family obligations, birthday parties, and often times we're stuck in our daily routines.  The days fly by, then the weeks go by and before you know it, exhaustion comes over us all.  A much needed pause is realized when we need to exhale.  Just as it is important to have alone time...It's also important to spend time with our girlfriends every so often. It's important to spend time with our girlfriends every so often. 
Girlfriends openly share what's going on in their lives, understand one another and can relate to each other. My girlfriends and I have the best laughs...bursting out in laughter for silly things, laughing til our bellies hurt or laughing til we cry.  Spending time with them reduces any stress or any worries that were brewing inside. This is why it's important to make time for your girlfriends and to be there for each other. Real friendships celebrate life- all the joys and the sorrows, the love and the hardships. I am fortunate to have a true sisterhood with more than 35 years together. 

How did we celebrate our successes this year?  Us ladies took a few days from our busy schedules to have some serious quality time! My girlfriends booked a trip to Las Vegas months in advance to watch New Kids on the Block in concert.  Only 10 days before the trip, I just couldn't miss out and joined them!  As soon as we got there, we received "VIP treatment" at restaurants, clubs, bars, pool parties, and shows. Our husbands were ok when we called them and our kids were doing fine without us for a few days. Laughter, tears, the sun and crazy fun - it's definitely a trip we'll all remember. 

"Exude happiness and you will feel it back a thousand times." - Joan Lunden

So make plans to go out for breakfast, meet for coffee or go out for drinks and dance the night away!  Just be sure to make time for your girlfriends!

Love you so much, ladies...and love us together 
MCB xo 
  

God Rest in Reason { Karmen & Jeffrey }

July 5, 2014

This is a wedding I was excited to plan.  Just look at the engagement photos of Karmen and Jeffrey. Not only do they look cute together but they are one of the kindest couples I've met.  The bride is quite crafty,  I foresaw there'd be pretty little details incorporated into their wedding. They got married on July 5, 2014 and you can see the happiness and all the love put into their wedding day....from the ceremony to the reception!  Their photographer, Terry Quilatan, captured all the fun - from the Ice cream shop to the Superman & Hello Kitty as wedding cake toppers, up until the McDonald's cheeseburgers at the midnight table. The year of planning it together was magnificent!  Congratulations to the both of you and looking forward to celebrating more happy events in your life :)  

MCB xo

Church:  Mary Queen of Peace

Transportation: Avis Rene Levesque

Hair: Cathy Tapia

Cake: Linda & Shirlyn Guiang

Reception/Caterer: Riviera Receptions:

Photographer: Terry Quilatan

Photobooth:  Grinbox 

Videographer: Maya Medina

Make-up: Chris Lee

DJ/MC & Entertainment: A2 Productions

Karmen Chan Roca: Thank you Satin weddings for helping us making our wedding day so memorable and for allowing us to enjoy every moment of it. Jeffrey and I appreciated your professionalism. Thank you for journeying with us.

Nursing Pediatrics Rotation

      I have been looking forward to my pediatrics rotation ever since I started my intensive nursing program.  There’s a soft spot in my heart for children.  Yes, the children who are hospitalized are sick and not happily playing outside as they should be…but I want to give them the care they so need.  I have a 3 year-old son who’s been previously admitted at the Children’s for respiratory issues so I know that the healthcare team needs to deal, not only with sick kids but also, with their worrisome parents.   Last year, when I found out I was pregnant, a part of me was disappointed because I wanted to graduate with my class at the end of the year, plus, pediatrics was going to be my next rotation.  One year later, here I am back at school, beginning clinical at Montreal Children’s Hospital and blessed with a healthy 9 month-old baby girl in my life. Oftentimes, I think that I was meant to be in the nursing program as a mature student because my past experiences definitely help me by being comfortable while communicating with others. 

  Upon my first encounter with pediatric patients, the young children have already and undoubtedly pulled my heartstrings.  As a student nurse, it’s important to not become attached, not link our patients to our own children, and to not show our emotions in front of our patients and their families.  In my mind, my goal this semester is to quickly refresh my nursing vocabulary, to learn technical skills and become confident working at the bedside.  For the following week, I plan to be organized with a nursing care plan for the day for each patient, read up on the diagnosis’ and watch videos of nursing skills to be done.  It’s important to not only familiarize myself with my surroundings on the pediatric floor but to know what resources are available to refer to my patients and their families.  When caring for a sick child, we may be the only resource or support a parent may have so it’s important that they receive excellent care directly from us. This week, we learned that administering medication is takes a lot of time and requires many steps doing it in real life.  Drug dosage knowledge needs to be safe according to the child’s weight so a calculator in our pocket is more of a necessity in the pediatric setting than it is on a medical-surgical floor.  I admitted I also didn’t have much experience with IVs, tracheostomies, catheters and gastric tubes – but was happy to have observed it all during my day in TDU on 7C.  After all our patients were changed, fed, medicated and suctioned…I still had the time to play games with them and even sing one little girl to sleep.  One thing I’ve noticed among nursing students is that most of us already have genuine thoughts of care and concern, do acts of kindness, and unselfishly give ourselves to others… as though it’s a pre-requisite to be in this program. 

 

MCB xo

Jasmine's Baptism - Cherry Blossoms

Mommy, Somebody Needs You!

Posted on February 27, 2014

by Megan Minneman Morton

Ever since we brought our new daughter home, her older brothers have been the first to tell me when she is crying, whimpering, or smelling a little suspicious.  “Somebody needs you,” they say.  I have no idea how this little saying started, but at first it sort of annoyed me.  I could be enjoying a quick shower… “Mommy, somebody needs you.  The baby is crying.”  Or, sitting down for a second, quite aware that the baby was beginning to stir from a nap…. “Mama, somebody needs you!”  Okay!  I get it already!  And not to mention that the newborn’s needs pale in comparison to the needs of 2 little boys.  Somebody always needs a snack, a band-aid, a different sock, ice cubes in their water, a NEW Paw Patrol, a stream of snot wiped, a hug, a story, a kiss.  Some days never seem to end, and the monotony of being “needed” can really take its toll. Then, it all started to hit me, they need ME.  Not anybody else.  Not a single other person in the whole world.  They need their Mommy.

The sooner I can accept that being Mommy means that I never go off the clock, the sooner I can find peace in this crazy stage of life.   That ‘Mommy’ is my duty, privilege and honor. I am ready to be there when somebody needs me, all day and all night.  Mommy means I just put the baby back down after her 4am feeding when a 3-year-old has a nightmare.  Mommy means I am surviving on coffee and toddler leftovers.  Mommy means my husband and I haven’t had a real conversation in weeks.  Mommy means I put their needs before my own, without a thought.  Mommy means that my body is full of aches and my heart is full of love.

I am sure there will come a day when no one needs me.  My babies will all be long gone and consumed with their own lives.  I may sit alone in some assisted living facility watching my body fade away.  No one will need me then.  I may even be a burden.  Sure, they will come visit, but my arms will no longer be their home.  My kisses no longer their cure.  There will be no more tiny boots to wipe the slush from or seat belts to be buckled.  I will have read my last bedtime story, 7 times in a row.  I will no longer enforce time outs.  There will be no more bags to pack and unpack or snack cups to fill.  I am sure my heart will yearn to hear those tiny voices calling out to me, “Mommy, somebody needs you!”

So for now, I find beauty in the peaceful 4am feedings in our cozy little nursery.  We are perched above the naked oak trees in our own lavender nest.  We watch the silent snow fall and a bunny scampering across its perfect white canvas.  It’s just me and my little baby, the neighborhood is dark and still.  We alone are up to watch the pale moon rise and the shadows dance along the nursery wall.  She and I are the only ones to hear the barn owl hooting in the distance.  We snuggle together under a blanket and I rock her back to sleep.  It’s 4am and I am exhausted and frustrated, but it’s okay, she needs me.  Just me.  And maybe, I need her too.  Because she makes me Mommy.  Some day she will sleep through the night.  Some day I will sit in my wheelchair, my arms empty, dreaming of those quiet nights in the nursery.  When she needed me and we were the only two people in the world.

Can I enjoy being needed?  Sometimes, sure, but often it is tiring.  Exhausting.  But, it isn’t meant to be enjoyed every moment.  It is a duty.  God made me their Mom.  It is a position I yearned for long before I would ever understand it.  Over a 3 day weekend my husband couldn’t believe how many times our boys kept saying, “Mommy.  Mommy.  Mommy”!  “Are they always like this?” he asked not able to hide his terror, and sympathy.  “Yep.  All day, everyday.  That’s my job.”  And I have to admit that it is the toughest job I have ever had.  In a previous life I was a restaurant manager for a high volume and very popular chain in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.  A Saturday night at 7:30pm with the expo window overflowing with dishes, a 2 hour wait, and the electricity inexplicably going out has got nothing on a Tuesday, 5:00pm at the Morton house.  And let me tell ya, South Florida diners are some of the toughest to please.  But, they are a cake walk compared to sleep-deprived toddlers with low blood sugar.

Once upon a time, I had time.  For myself.  Now, my toe nails need some love.  My bra fits a little differently.  My curling iron might not even work anymore, I don’t know.  I can’t take a shower without an audience.  I’ve started using eye cream.  I don’t get carded any more.  My proof of motherhood.  Proof that somebody needs me.  That right now, somebody always needs me.  Like last night…

At 3am I hear the little footsteps entering my room.  I lay still, barely breathing.  Maybe he will retreat to his room.  Yeah right.

“Mommy.”

“Mommy.”  A little louder.

“Yes”.  I barely whisper.

He pauses, his giant eyes flashing in the dim light.

“I love you.”

And just like that, he is gone.  Scampered back to his room.  But, his words still hang in the cool night air.  If I could reach out and snatch them, I would grab his words and hug them to my chest.  His soft voice whispering the best sentence in the world.  I love you.  A smile curls across my lips and I slowly exhale, almost afraid to blow the memory away.  I drift back to sleep and let his words settle into my heart.

One day that little boy will be a big man.  There will no longer be any sweet words whispered to me in the wee hours.  Just the whir of the sound machine and the snoring husband.  I will sleep peacefully through the night, never a worry of a sick child or a crying baby.  It will be but a memory.  These years of being needed are exhausting, yet fleeting.  I have to stop dreaming of “one day” when things will be easier.  Because, the truth is, it may get easier, but it will never be better than today.  Today, when I am covered in toddler snot and spit up.  Today, when I savor those chubby little arms around my neck.  Today is perfect.  “One day” I will get pedicures and showers alone.  “One day” I will get myself back.  But, today I give myself away, and I am tired, and dirty and loved SO much, and I gotta go.  Somebody needs me.